Just before 1p.m. Thursday, the girl and two of her cousins were playing outside near a retention pond . She and an 8-year-old boy decided to go out onto the ice. It wasn't thick enough, and they fell through.
The third child, an 11-year-old, ran for help. Neighbors were able to pull the boy from the icy water, but 9-year-old Maheen Ahmad couldn't be found immediately. By the time the Naperville Fire Department arrived, she had been underwater for more than 15 minutes.
"When we removed her from the water, she did not have a pulse and was not breathing. They initiated a flight and transported her," said Naperville Fire Chief Michael Veseling.
The girl was rushed to Edward Hospital in critical condition, but she couldn't be saved.
Family members say they are grateful that the boy who fell in survived.
"He started yelling and screaming, and people showed up. They were able to pull him out, but they just couldn't find the girl," said Mohammad Tahseen, the victim's uncle.
Maheen ahmad was a fourth grader at White Eagle elementary school. She loved animals and inline skating and was the youngest of four children.
The family says they hope other children will remember her when thinking about playing on dangerous thin ice.
"The ice looks like its thick enough to walk on, but it's not," Veseling said. "Any ice, you should stay off of, especially this time of year."The -8-year-old boy was being treated for his injuries Thursday.
